


Forever and Always

by aceschwarz222



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Cancer, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11689665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceschwarz222/pseuds/aceschwarz222
Summary: Prompt request: Could you do a story, one or two shots is okay, where the reader is on her own and finds out they have cancer? Maybe they are found crying by Bucky and Steve after a mission, so she finally tells them. So they tell Tony so he can get the reader all the top care?





	Forever and Always

**Author's Note:**

> This request was so awesome to get. My brother actually had cancer while I was in college, so I drew on that experience a lot (including the medical marijuana scene). I hope that was okay to add...my brother’s chemo absolutely sucked, and the “pot candy” (as our family called them) was such a huge help to his quality of life during this time. His first experience with them may or may not be accurately reflected in this fic ;).

Steve and Bucky walked into the common room in the Avengers Compound. They had just returned from a weeklong mission, and they were thrilled to be able to sleep in their own bed. They chatted mindlessly as they walked past the leather couches, but Bucky pulled Steve to a dead stop. **  
**

“What are you-” Steve started.

Bucky silenced him with a stern look and nodded his head to the left. Steve’s gaze followed Bucky’s and his heart broke when he saw who his boyfriend was looking at.

You sat on one of the couches that faced the floor-to-ceiling windows. Your eyes were red, and you had a white knuckled grip on your cell phone. Always the vibrant one of the group, this behavior was completely abnormal.

“Y/N?” Bucky asked gently as he kneeled down to meet you at eye-level. “You okay?”

* * *

 

You averted his eyes and swallowed thickly. Tears pooled in your eyes as you gave your friends a small smile. “I...I, um, got some bad news,” you finally replied with a shaky breath. You held up your cell phone in your tight grip. “Doctor called. I had a f-few tests done, and...and they, uh, found something.”

Steve and Bucky’s hearts sank. “Found what, doll?” Steve asked, sitting next to you on the couch.

You took a deep breath as you prepared to say the word. You had been sitting on the couch for over two hours, not acknowledging its existence. Maybe if you didn’t say it, it wouldn’t actually be true. But as much as you wanted that to be possible, you knew it wasn’t. You had to say it. You had to admit what was wrong.

“It’s cancer,” you whispered. “I have breast cancer.” Your shoulders shook as sobs took over your body. Bucky wrapped you up in a hug while Steve curled his arm around your shoulder. Thanks to their super soldier serum, they would never know diseases like cancer. They would have given everything for them to have it instead of you.

“What else do you know?” Steve asked. “What kind of treatment do you need?”

You shook your head against Bucky’s shoulder. “I’m n-n-not su-sure,” you sniffed. “I need t-to go mee-meet my doctor.”

Bucky pulled you tighter as you continued to cry. “Tony can help,” he said, stroking your back. “He’s got the best doctors. They’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

You sat back against the couch. “I can’t ask him to do that,” you replied. “It’s too much.”

Steve cupped your cheeks and turned you to face him. “Listen to me,” he insisted. “You are a member of this team. We’ll take care of you. You hear me?”

You nodded and let the boys pull you up. Your heart thumped nervously in your chest as they guided you to Tony’s room to figure out the best way to handle this. You had complete confidence in your friends…

But you knew it was going to be a long year.

* * *

 

After hearing about your situation, Tony got you set up with one of the best oncologists he could find. Dr. Andor was kind, patient with your questions, and brutally honest.

She performed surgery to remove the 1.7cm tumor in your right breast. She also removed two lymph nodes to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread to other parts of your body. She met with you, Bucky, and Steve to discuss your results.

“The good news is, we got the entire tumor out with no complications,” Dr. Andor said.

You breathed a huge sigh of relief. You didn’t care if your breast was a little lopsided now, you were just glad the cancer was out.

“Unfortunately,” Dr. Andor continued, “when we examined the lymph nodes, we found cancer.”

Your face lost all color as you tried to process her words. You opened and closed your mouth, but no sound came out.

Bucky and Steve each took one of your hands and let you squeeze. “What does that mean?” Bucky asked for you.

“We need to do additional chemotherapy to treat the cancer still in your body,” Dr. Andor replied. “Six months, three days a month is my recommendation.”

Steve grimaced. “Chemo? Is there another way?”

The doctor shook her head. “Surgery plus chemo is the best route for us to go at this point.” She looked you directly in the eyes. “Y/N, I am confident we can beat this. You have the best care, and you need to focus on getting better.”

“No more missions,” Bucky said firmly. You almost whined in protest, but ultimately, you knew it was for the best.

After scheduling a time for chemo the next day, the three of you walked out of the makeshift office Tony had set up for Dr. Andor. You tried to contain the panic rising in your chest, but you couldn’t. You stopped and leaned against the wall as you tried to calm your pounding heart.

“Y/N?” Steve asked gently.

You took a shaky breath and looked at him. “I...I’m scared,” you admitted. “I’m really scared.”

Bucky and Steve wanted nothing more than to spit positivity out at you. That you would be okay, and that everything would be fine. But you weren’t looking for positivity. You were looking for people to let you be honest and raw.

So Bucky and Steve wrapped you up in their arms and let you be scared. They let you cry and shudder in their embrace as you got out all of your emotions. When you were done, they took you to their bedroom, wrapped you up in blankets, and cuddled with you to chase away what was left of your fear.

* * *

 

Chemotherapy absolutely sucked.

The sitting in the chair with a needle in your hand didn’t bother you. It was actually kind of boring just waiting for poison to seep into your bloodstream and kill the cancer cells.

Every Avenger made it a point to visit with you at some point during your man treatments, but Bucky and Steve were your constants. They brought cards, board games, and other little distractions to keep you occupied. You were close with them already, but now you knew them at a whole new level. Their fears, their hopes and dreams. They talked to you about everything, and you shared just as much with them.

Your biggest dream was to rent an RV and spend two weeks traveling down the California coast. You explained your trip in detail, starting from Yosemite and ending in San Diego. You had saved up enough money at this point, and you knew the trip was financially possible.

But there were some days you weren’t sure you would be alive to take that trip.

You dreaded the week after chemo. You would feel totally fine, and then it was like a tractor trailer slammed into you. Your body was ravaged in sweat, you couldn’t hold any food down, and you felt like you spent more time on the cold tile floor in your bathroom than in your actual bed. Life was miserable, and you didn’t see any way out. By the time you felt completely better, it was time to start another round of chemo. It seemed like an endless cycle of misery, and the six months couldn’t go by fast enough.

After your second round of chemo, Bucky and Steve couldn’t stand to see you like that any more. They consulted with Tony and concocted what they thought was the perfect solution to your problem.

Bucky carefully pulled your frail body off the bathroom floor and carried you over to the bed.

“Bucky,” you whined desperately. “Leave me in there.”

He kissed your sweaty forehead and helped you change out of your drenched clothes. “Steve’s coming with something to make you feel better.”

Just as he had gotten you into new clothes, Steve knocked on the door and entered your room. “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed. He pulled two hard candies out of a brown paper bag he was holding. “Tony said to take two the first time, and then one every six hours if she needs it.”

Bucky situated himself on the bed so you were pulled flush against his chest. He placed his metal arm against your burning skin, and you sighed at the change in temperature. Steve handed you the two candies, and you gingerly sucked on them. The sickly sweet taste of strawberry coated your dry mouth, and you relished in the fact that you could actually taste something.

“Mmm, tastes good,” you mumbled contentedly. Bucky and Steve both smirked as they waited for their special candy to take effect.

About two hours later, it was as if you had recuperated completely. Your eyes were no longer glassy, and your skin had cooled down to a much more bearable temperature. You sat up and clutched your aching stomach.

“Y/N?” Bucky asked, concern lacing his voice. “Are you okay?”

You shook your head and winced. “M’ sooooo hungry,” you replied.

Steve bolted up and gathered as many snacks as he could find from the kitchen. When he got back to the room, you were holding Bucky’s metal arm up to the light as he smirked behind you. Your eyes widened as the metal panels caused a small beam to shine against the wall.

“So pretty,” you breathed. Your gaze wandered to the food in Steve’s arms and you clapped your hand against Bucky’s metal one. “Food!” you exclaimed.

Steve handed you a bag of pretzels and chips, and you eagerly began to devour them. Steve quirked an amused eyebrow at Bucky as you enjoyed your munchies.

“Tell Tony he did a good job on the candies,” Bucky snickered.

You held up a potato chip in front of your eyes and moved it forwards and backwards. You let out a snort and showed it to Steve. “Steve, guess what this is!” Before giving him time to form a response, you burst into a fit of giggled. “Nacho cheese!” You doubled over in laughter, and Bucky and Steve couldn’t help but join in.

“Y/N,” Bucky wheezed. “Those aren’t nachos!” Steve howled as tears streamed down his cheeks.

You blinked a few times and scrutinized your chip. “Ohhhh,” you said, realization dawning on you. Putting the chip down, you frowned. “I sound like an idiot, don’t I?” you asked.

Bucky shook his head and kissed the top of yours. “Not at all,” he replied, lying through his teeth.

“What was in those candies?” you asked, suddenly becoming suspicious. “I feel better than I have in weeks.”

Steve blushed and cleared his throat. “Well, you see, um...Bucky can explain.”

Bucky glared at his boyfriend. “Y/N, the candies had a...special ingredient in them.”

“What kind of ingredient?” you demanded.

“Um, w-we-well,” Bucky stuttered. He sighed and decided to confess. “Marijuana.”

You looked at Steve, Bucky, and then back at Steve again. “Pot?” you asked incredulously. “You got me pot candies?”

“Technically, Tony made them himself,” Steve clarified. “He insisted on using the best marijuana on the market.

Your lower lip trembled as your emotions went on a wild roller coaster. “I’m a druggie!” you wailed. “I-I’m a p-p-pothead!” You cried as you continued to stuff chips and pretzels in your face because, damn it, you could actually hold down food.

Bucky stroked your arm soothingly. “Doll, you’re not a pothead,” he promised. “It’s just to help with the chemo. Once you’re done, no more pot.”

“You feel better, right?” Steve added. You nodded your head as you chewed. “See?” he asked.

You pushed the bags of food aside and cupped his hands in your cheeks. “Don’t me turn into a pothead,” you ordered him. Steve smiled and nodded. Satisfied with his answer, you laid back against Bucky’s chest and closed your eyes. Soon, your breathing slowed and you were fast asleep.

Steve untied Bucky’s shoes and placed them on the floor. Once he got rid of his own, he pulled the thin blanket over the three of them and settled into the pillows.

“We’ve gotta tell Tony how well his recipe worked,” Bucky whispered as sleep overcame his senses. Steve hummed in response, and soon, everyone slept peacefully for the first time in two months.

* * *

 

You sat nervously in the Dr. Andor’s office as you waited for her to come back with your test results. You finished the last four months of chemotherapy, and now you were praying that your scan showed that you were cancer free.

The door opened, and Dr. Andor walked in with a file in her hand. You tried to scrutinize her facial expression, but it was neutral. You had absolutely no idea how this appointment was going to go.

Dr. Andor sat down at her desk and opened the file. She hummed thoughtfully as she read the documents inside. Just when you were about to explode from anticipation, she smiled.

“Y/N, I am so happy to tell you that you are cancer free!”

You burst into tears on the spot. You had never felt so relieved, so free in your life. The chemo, the pain, the sickness you had been feeling for the last six months finally paid off.

“T-th-thank you s-s-so much,” you cried.

She quickly explained about follow-up appointments and your next check-up scan, and then you were free to go. The first place you went was Bucky and Steve’s room. You had asked to go into this appointment by yourself, but it was time to share the good news.

Obviously, they were completely overjoyed. As soon as you told them, they wrapped you up in their arms and cried tears of joy. You would never have been able to survive this without them. That much you were sure of.

When they finally put you back on the ground, Bucky went inside the room and came back with an envelope.

“What’s this?” you asked as you wiped away your tears.

“Open it,” Steve replied, a huge smile on his face.

You eagerly opened the envelope and gasped when you read the papers inside. There were three tickets to California and a confirmation for an RV rental.

“We’re going to California?” you gasped. Your jaw dropped open, and you stared at your best friends in shock. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Bucky said, nodding his head.

“We wanted to wait until your we knew for sure your results were okay,” Steve added. He cleared his throat blinked back tears. “We’re so glad you’re okay.”

You squealed and jumped into their arms again. “I love you guys so much,” you whispered. “I coulda never done this without you.”

“We love you too,” Bucky replied, squeezing you tighter.

Steve smiled and kissed your forehead.

“Forever and always.”


End file.
